The Snark Factor 3 in 3

Fingers Malloy

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POLITICS
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Three stories. Three minutes. Every weekday. The Snark Factor 3 in 3 looks at the news, questions who gets to explain it, and ends a little quieter than everything else. Fingers Malloy is a nationally syndicated radio host. He can be heard on Eat Drink Smoke and The Snark Factor. fingersmalloy.substack.com

14H AGO

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Cash, Cable, Crab

The audio is above. Three stories. Three minutes. Today’s episode starts at the airport. The New York Post reports a class-action lawsuit aimed at stopping the TSA from seizing travelers’ cash. There is no legal limit on how much cash you can fly with domestically — and yet people are being pulled aside anyway. Not for weapons. Not for explosives. For having money. In one cited case, a woman traveling with her father’s life savings — more than $82,000 — had it seized. It raises a simple question: when did airport security become airport accounting? From there, we move to cable television. TheStreet reports the parent company behind QVC and HSN is negotiating a major debt restructuring, possibly through Chapter 11, as cord-cutting and debt finally catch up. Home shopping didn’t disappear — it just migrated from Channel 47 to your phone at 2:11 a.m., where the algorithm now whispers your late-night purchases directly into your soul. And then… the devil crab. The New York Post reports food vlogger Emma Amet died after eating a toxic species known as a “devil crab,” reportedly for content. A friend who ate it also died. If it’s called devil crab, perhaps we don’t need a tasting panel. The through-line today is simple: Cash gets treated like contraband.QVC gets treated like a relic.And the devil crab gets treated like a snack. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.Everything is content — until it isn’t.And the bill always shows up later. Sources referenced in today’s episode:– New York Post (TSA lawsuit; devil crab story)– TheStreet (QVC/HSN restructuring report) This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.I’m Fingers Malloy.Let’s talk tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

3 min
1D AGO

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Money, Math, Marriage

The audio is above. Hit play, then scroll if you want a little context. Today’s Three Stories, Three Minutes connects dots that probably shouldn’t connect — but absolutely do. We start with Social Security, where the Congressional Budget Office is now projecting the main trust fund will run short in 2032. Not apocalypse-short. More like “everything still works, just not the way you were promised” short. Payroll taxes keep coming in, benefits keep going out — just trimmed, unless Congress fixes it.(They’ve had decades. So… draw your own conclusions.) Then we take that same math problem and drop it into New York City, where the mayor is staring at a multibillion-dollar budget gap and floating two options: raise taxes on the rich, or raise property taxes on people who already feel like they’re funding the whole thing. It’s government budgeting with the same energy as deciding dinner at 8:30 p.m. — technically, there are choices — none of them are good. And finally, we end on marriage happiness, because of course we do. A new survey says couples who go to bed closer together tend to report happier marriages. The science is solid. The sponsor is a mattress company. Make of that what you will. Sources mentioned in today’s episode:– Fox Business (Social Security trust fund / CBO projection)– NBC New York (NYC budget and property tax discussion)– New York Post (bedtime gap marriage survey) Same theme all the way through:Retirement math.City math.Relationship math. Everything eventually becomes numbers — money, minutes, and how many nights you say, “We’ll deal with it tomorrow.” This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.I’m Fingers Malloy.Let’s talk tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

4 min
2D AGO

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Markets, Wendy’s, Majors

Three stories. Three minutes. Let’s get into it. This episode starts with the market — and a reminder that “long-term investing” mostly just means staying alive long enough to see the chart go up. A legendary Wall Street analyst retires after nearly 50 years, having watched stocks climb, crash, recover, and ruin more than a few family holidays. The takeaway isn’t timing the market. It’s surviving it — emotionally, physically, and without panic-selling because your phone vibrated at lunch. From there, we head straight to fast food. Wendy’s is closing hundreds of underperforming locations in 2026. Not the whole chain. Just the ones that clearly stopped caring somewhere around 2009. Corporate calls it efficiency and modernization. Translation: one working register, questionable vibes, and a Frosty machine that knew too much. And finally, college majors and unemployment. The degrees with the lowest unemployment rates turn out to be exactly what you’d expect: healthcare, engineering, and highly practical fields. The jobs society still needs when everything else breaks. Meanwhile, the rest of us are refreshing job boards, whispering, “but it felt like a calling.” Markets reward patience.Businesses cut what doesn’t work.Careers come down to usefulness when the vibe gets weird. If you’re listening regularly and haven’t subscribed yet, that’s how you get this every weekday. This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.I’m Fingers Malloy.Let’s talk tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

3 min
3D AGO

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — peace, bingo, roast beef

The audio is above. Three stories. Three minutes. This week’s Snark Factor 3 in 3 covers the full spectrum of modern seriousness. First, President Trump announces a new Board of Peace, with a meeting scheduled in Washington, D.C. on February 19 and more than $5 billion pledged by member states toward humanitarian projects in Gaza. Big money. Big intentions. Big name. Then we pivot hard to Las Vegas, where Circus Circus has decided the future is bingo. Not reimagined. Not rebranded. Just fluorescent lights, folded cards, and numbers called out loud by a human being. Progress is complicated. And finally, food journalism delivers exactly what it promises.Arby’s brand president reveals his favorite sandwich. An opinion so safe, so expected, you don’t even argue with it. You just nod. Global peace.Vegas bingo.Executive roast beef thoughts. This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.If you’re listening regularly and haven’t subscribed yet, that’s how you get this every weekday. I’m Fingers Malloy.Let’s talk tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

3 min
6D AGO

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Peril · QR · Chores

The audio is above. Three stories. Three minutes. One theme running quietly underneath all of it:the systems we’re told are safe, convenient, and handled for us…aren’t. We start with AI — where an Anthropic safety researcher quit and warned that “the world is in peril.”Not a phrase you love hearing from the person whose job was installing the guardrails.And when he left, he didn’t go to a competitor.He said he’s stepping away to study poetry.Which feels less like a career move and more like a weather alert. From there, we bring that same sense of unease to dinner.Southern Living says QR-code menus are now the most divisive restaurant trend in America.Scan the code. Pull out your phone.Accept cookies.Your phone already ruins your attention span, sleep, and mood — it doesn’t need to order your chicken sandwich too. And finally, Valentine’s Day — without the spending test.A CNBC piece argues the most meaningful gifts cost zero dollars:taking ownership of chores, planning, logistics, and mental load.Not “let me know if you need help,” but “you never have to think about this again.”Flowers die. Chocolate disappears.But taking real responsibility off your partner’s plate?That pays dividends all year. AI is getting smarter.Menus are getting dumber.And it turns out the most advanced relationship technology we have… …is just doing the work. This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.I’m Fingers Malloy.Let’s talk Monday. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

3 min
FEB 12

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Jobs · Hot Dogs · Nuggets

The audio is above. Three stories.Three minutes.And one familiar feeling: things technically working… without quite feeling right. In today’s Snark Factor 3 in 3, we start with the economy. According to CNN, the U.S. added about 130,000 jobs last month, and unemployment ticked down to 4.3%. On paper, that’s positive. Jobs up. Unemployment down. But revisions to earlier months show a slower, softer picture than first reported — not a boom, more of a careful shuffle forward. People are working. They’re just not celebrating. From there, we move from data to daily life. Costco’s legendary $1.50 hot dog now comes with a requirement: membership. The cheapest meal in America now checks credentials. Costco says it’s about efficiency. Sure. But it also means the hot dog has gone from public good to members-only privilege — still affordable, just not universally accessible anymore. And finally, romance. McDonald’s rolled out a McNugget caviar kit for Valentine’s Day, and it sold out almost immediately. Chicken McNuggets, presented with confidence. At a moment when people are watching grocery prices climb, McDonald’s decided to see if nuggets could feel aspirational. Put it all together, and the pattern is hard to miss. The economy says we’re steady.Costco says access matters.And McDonald’s is selling luxury feelings with sweet-and-sour sauce. Everything technically works.It just feels a little upside down. This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.I’m Fingers Malloy.Let’s talk tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

3 min
FEB 11

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Carrier · Costco · Childhood

The audio is above. Three stories. One through-line.The things we’re told are stable… aren’t. In today’s Snark Factor 3 in 3, we start overseas, where President Donald Trump warns a second U.S. aircraft carrier could be sent to the Middle East — the diplomatic equivalent of standing up slowly and pushing your chair back. Not a declaration. A suggestion. A very expensive one. Then we bring that same energy to aisle twelve. Costco quietly raises its minimum wage to $20 an hour, proving that when the floor shifts, it doesn’t always come with fireworks — sometimes it just shows up on a paycheck and dares everyone else to keep up. And finally, childhood gets escorted out without a goodbye. Coca-Cola retires the frozen Minute Maid juice line after nearly 80 years, leaving an empty spot in the freezer aisle and a reminder that even the most familiar things can vanish without notice. Different stories.Same message. The systems we rely on — power, work, comfort — are all being recalibrated.Some loudly.Some quietly.Some while you weren’t looking. This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

2 min
FEB 10

The Snark Factor 3 in 3 — Mail · Bedtime · Bucketlist

The audio is above. Three stories. Three minutes. One theme hiding in plain sight. We’re told certain parts of life are settled.Automatic.Handled. They are not. First: the mail.The U.S. Postal Service says package shipping revenue and volume fell in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Some services were up. Others were down. The overall takeaway was… concern, but professionally phrased. So USPS rolled out something called direct last-mile facility access — letting outside companies come directly into postal facilities to help move packages. More than twelve hundred companies have already lined up. That’s not a tweak. That’s a crowd.Your package isn’t lost. It’s networking. Then: parenting.A widely shared piece, originally reported by CNBC, claims the happiest kids have parents who do six specific things with them every evening. Screen-free conversation. Reading. Routines. Gratitude. Calm activities. Affection. All good things. Also, all things that sound much easier in a study than at 8:17 p.m. in a real house.Parenting advice is never wrong. It’s just wildly optimistic about bedtime. And finally: retirement.Yahoo Finance reports retirees often overspend on travel in the early years — the so-called go-go years. You finally have the time and freedom, and you immediately try to see everything before the budget notices. Research cited by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that those early retirement years are often the most expensive, before spending has to pull back.Retirement isn’t an ending. It’s a scenic overlook where you admire the view… and quietly check the balance. Mail.Parenting.Retirement. All sold as simple.All delivered with fine print. This is The Snark Factor 3 in 3.Three stories. Three minutes. If you’re listening regularly and haven’t subscribed yet, that’s how you get this every weekday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fingersmalloy.substack.com

3 min

Three stories. Three minutes. Every weekday. The Snark Factor 3 in 3 looks at the news, questions who gets to explain it, and ends a little quieter than everything else. Fingers Malloy is a nationally syndicated radio host. He can be heard on Eat Drink Smoke and The Snark Factor. fingersmalloy.substack.com

Creator

Fingers Malloy
Years Active

2K
Episodes

28
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Fingers Malloy
Show Website

The Snark Factor 3 in 3